A Permanent Solution for our Street Tree Problem

Posted on November 16, 2014

Our urban forest is a vital part of our city, but we have done a poor job of investing in this important asset. Our current policy of transferring ownership of street trees to private property owners who didn't plant the trees, didn't ask to take care of the trees and might not have the capacity or financial means to take care of our trees is endangering our urban forest and our streets. Just last week, four trees fell down on a single day, including one that landed on a construction worker. To address this, I have asked the City Attorney to begin drafting an Urban Forestry Fund, which will be a permanent funding solution to take care of our trees. This fund will be filled by either a parcel tax or a budget set-aside, or some combination thereof, that must be approved by the voters. The approval of this measure would be contingent on the cancellation of the city relinquishment policy that dumps responsibility for these trees on private property owners. I will also be forming a working group to explore how best to structure this fund, and I look forward to hearing from a wide range of interests as we move forward with this important effort to improve the health of our city's trees.